Whole Foods Thursday recalled Morningland Dairy and Ozark Hills Farm Raw Goat Milk Mild Cheddar Cheese for possible contamination with Listeria and Staphylococcus aureus.
No illnesses have yet been associated with the recall.
The contamination was discovered during routine regulatory sampling. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Missouri Milk Board, and Mountainview, MO-based Morningland Dairy are cooperating in the investigation.
The recalled raw goat milk cheeses were sold in three Whole Foods Market stores: West Hartford Center and Glastonbury, CT; and Hadley, MA. The cheese is packaged in plastic labeled with a Whole Foods scale label and sold as random weight size retail packages in the cheese department.
The North Atlanta Region of Whole Foods issued the recall for the natural and organic food retailer.
It said customers who have purchased these products from Whole Foods Market may return them to the store for a full refund. Signs have also been posted in stores to notify customers.
Whole Foods ceased selling raw milk in bulk last March, but continues to sell cheeses containing unpasteurized milk.
Consumption of food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections.
Symptoms include high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea.
Listeria infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.
Staphylococcus aureus is a bacteria that usually causes rapid food poisoning symptoms, including nausea, vomiting, retching, abdominal cramping and prostration.
In more severe cases, headache, muscle cramping and transient changes in blood pressure and pulse may occur.
Whole Foods employs 55,000 in more than 280 stores across the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. Its sales last year topped $8 billion.
Michigan's Scenic View Dairy, with farms at Fennville, Freeport, and Gowen, should be shut down for selling cows for human consumption with antibiotic levels that exceed tolerable limits.
So argues Adam B. Townshend, assistant U.S. Attorney, in a 25-page complaint filed Aug. 31 in U.S. District Court for Western Michigan against Scenic View Dairy LLC, its president, and three of its managers.
Abuse of antibiotics in animals is believed by many experts to lessen the effectiveness of antibiotics used to treat humans, including those infected by foodborne diseases.
A court date has not yet been set for the request by the government for a permanent injunction against Hamilton-based Scenic View, but the case has been assigned to U.S. District Court Judge Gordon J. Quist.
In the complaint, Townshend alleges that Scenic View Dairy, its president, Michael D. Geerlings, and managers, Mark A. Lucas, Michael J. Van Dam, and Jeremy A. Portell sold for slaughter dairy cows that were treated with drugs contrary to the drugs' FDA-approved labeling and without a veterinary prescription authorizing such use.
The assistant U.S. attorney's complaint says the dairymen ignored numerous warnings, dating as far back as 2002.
FDA sent a warning letter to Scenic View Dairy on May 15, 2003 stemming from inspections that occurred from Nov. 2 to Dec. 5, 2002. At that time, FDA found neomycin, an aminoglycoside antibiotic, in the kidney and liver tissues of animals sold by the dairy at levels far higher than tolerance levels.
The complaint alleges that these violations have continued through 2010 at Scenic View Dairy's three farms.
Between 2001 and 2010, the FDA notified the defendants of its inspectional findings on at least eight occasions, and USDA sent Scenic View at least 11 letters regarding illegal tissue residues. The complaint alleges that the defendants continue to violate the law despite these warnings.
The complaint is based, in part, upon illegal neomycin, penicillin, and sulfadimethoxine drug residues that the USDA found in the edible tissue of dairy cows that the defendants had offered for sale for human consumption. Neomycin, penicillin, and sulfadimethoxine are all antibiotics. The sale of animals for human food that contain illegal levels of drugs can lead to the development of bacteria that resist antibiotics and can cause reactions in people with drug allergies. FDA regulations for animal drugs include a specified time to withdraw an animal from treatment prior to slaughter so that a drug is depleted from edible tissue to levels safe for humans.
Scenic View Dairy buys cows primarily from New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Vermont and sells to slaughterhouses in other states, including Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. No attorneys have yet been named for the dairy or its personnel. The U.S. District Court Clerk has said all future filings in the case must be by electronic means.
Current high cattle prices are causing many dairy cows to be sold for slaughter.
The complaint is based, in part, upon illegal neomycin, penicillin, and sulfadimethoxine drug residues that the USDA found in the edible tissue of dairy cows that the defendants had offered for sale for human consumption. Neomycin, penicillin, and sulfadimethoxine are all antibiotics. The sale of animals for human food that contain illegal levels of drugs can lead to the development of bacteria that resist antibiotics and can cause reactions in people with drug allergies. FDA regulations for animal drugs include a specified time to withdraw an animal from treatment prior to slaughter so that a drug is depleted from edible tissue to levels safe for humans.
Scenic View Dairy buys cows primarily from New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Vermont and sells to slaughterhouses in other states, including Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. No attorneys have yet been named for the dairy or its personnel. The U.S. District Court Clerk has said all future filings in the case must be by electronic means.
Current high cattle prices are causing many dairy cows to be sold for slaughter.
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) warned consumers this week to discard any Cocon Grape Gummy 100% candy imported from Malaysia after testing revealed high levels of lead in the candy. According to a health department press release, the Cocon Grape Gummy Candy has been recalled by U-Can Food Trading in Los Angeles. U-Can Food Trading imports and distributes the candy, which is produced by Cocon Food Industries in Malaysia.
Analysis at a CDPH lab revealed that the candy contained as much as 0.19 parts per million (ppm) of lead. California considers candies with lead levels in excess of 0.10 ppm to be contaminated.
California health officials are encouraging consumers who find Cocon Grape Gummy 100% candy for sale to call the CDPH Complaint Hotline at (800) 495-3232.
Flies "too numerous to count," rodents, wild birds, maggots, and open piles of manure four to eight feet high were among the observations released by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration yesterday, illustrating "significant objectionable conditions" at two Iowa egg farms responsible for the recent recall of over half a billion eggs.
With the release of the inspection reports for Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms, FDA said the two companies failed to implement internal protocols and FDA egg regulations, which went into affect July 9.
The farms came under investigation after being linked to a sharp spike in Salmonella enteritidis illnesses between May and August. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, almost 1,500 reported illnesses are likely linked to the outbreak.
Federal officials are still trying determine exactly how the disease-causing bacteria entered the large-scale egg facilities. The observational reports released yesterday indicate there are numerous possible modes of contamination.
"The firm failed to prevent stray poultry, wild birds, cats, and other animals from entering poultry houses," said David Elder, director of the FDA's Office of Regional Operations, of Wright County Egg, adding that in some cases large piles of manure pushed open entrances, allowing rodents and wildlife access to the poultry houses.
In over a dozen of the houses, investigators reported finding between two and five live mice per facility.
At Hillandale Farms, a water sample collected from "spent egg wash water"--water used to rinse the eggs--tested positive for a strain of Salmonella indistinguishable from the outbreak strain that has been isolated from people with salmonellosis.
Hillandale also showed evidence of a pest problem. Investigators noted dozens of rodent holes, as well as live mice, inside the facilities.
At both farms, FDA investigators witnessed uncaged, or escaped, hens tracking manure from piles to the caged hen areas, providing an easy means of contamination.
"Clearly the observations here reflect significant deviations from what's expected," said Mike Taylor, deputy commissioner for food at FDA, in a call with reporters yesterday.
Taylor emphasized that the agency believes enforcement of the new egg rule will help prevent similar incidents. "We think its going to be a powerful tool for preventing outbreaks like this in the future," said Taylor. "It is their legal duty, now, to meet these standards."
FDA is going to "very thoroughly" enforce the rule, said Taylor.
In the next 15 months the agency plans to inspect all of the approximately 600 egg firms currently under the rule--all firms with more than 50,000 laying hens--which make up about 80 percent of domestic egg production. Taylor said the inspections will begin in September.
Elder told reporters that "all options are under consideration" for enforcement actions against the companies, but explained that FDA does not comment on enforcement decisions before they are enacted. Injunctions and criminal prosecution are among the possibilities.
Longtime food safety advocate Caroline Smith DeWaal, director of food safety at the Center for Science in the Public Interest called the agency's findings "stomach-churning," in a statement yesterday.
"FDA found rodents and wild birds in the facilities, and five of the Wright County Egg facilities had giant manure piles inside their buildings," noted Smith DeWaal. "These violations are reminiscent of similar findings in another major outbreak linked to peanut butter."
"Equally troubling is that the inspections occurred the month following the date that the new egg-safety regulation went into effect," she added. "Both companies involved had been on notice that they needed to meet requirements of the new egg-safety rule for over a year."
"The decrepit conditions in these hen houses reflect the fact that companies know that FDA inspections are so rare--even following the adoption of a new safety regulation--that there is no urgency to fix their buildings and their operations to assure compliance with FDA statutes and regulations," she added.
FDA says the two farms have agreed to not sell shell eggs to consumers until the agency is confident the eggs are safe for consumption. Until the firms are given the go-ahead, eggs are being sent to "breaker" facilities to be pasteurized for use in processed foods and other consumer goods.
Both companies responded by saying they are acting quickly to correct problems identified by FDA. Wright County Egg said they have "worked around the clock" to address concerns raised during the inspection.
"To date, the vast majority of the concerns identified in the FDA report already have been addressed through repairs or other corrective measures," said the company in a statement. "We anticipate the expeditious completion of nearly all remaining items by mid-September."
Taylor said yesterday that FDA has no reason to believe that the conditions found at Hillandale and Wright County are indicative of the entire egg industry.
The inspection reports are available online for both Hillandale Farms and Wright County Egg.
With the release of the inspection reports for Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms, FDA said the two companies failed to implement internal protocols and FDA egg regulations, which went into affect July 9.
The farms came under investigation after being linked to a sharp spike in Salmonella enteritidis illnesses between May and August. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, almost 1,500 reported illnesses are likely linked to the outbreak.
Federal officials are still trying determine exactly how the disease-causing bacteria entered the large-scale egg facilities. The observational reports released yesterday indicate there are numerous possible modes of contamination.
"The firm failed to prevent stray poultry, wild birds, cats, and other animals from entering poultry houses," said David Elder, director of the FDA's Office of Regional Operations, of Wright County Egg, adding that in some cases large piles of manure pushed open entrances, allowing rodents and wildlife access to the poultry houses.
In over a dozen of the houses, investigators reported finding between two and five live mice per facility.
At Hillandale Farms, a water sample collected from "spent egg wash water"--water used to rinse the eggs--tested positive for a strain of Salmonella indistinguishable from the outbreak strain that has been isolated from people with salmonellosis.
Hillandale also showed evidence of a pest problem. Investigators noted dozens of rodent holes, as well as live mice, inside the facilities.
At both farms, FDA investigators witnessed uncaged, or escaped, hens tracking manure from piles to the caged hen areas, providing an easy means of contamination.
"Clearly the observations here reflect significant deviations from what's expected," said Mike Taylor, deputy commissioner for food at FDA, in a call with reporters yesterday.
Taylor emphasized that the agency believes enforcement of the new egg rule will help prevent similar incidents. "We think its going to be a powerful tool for preventing outbreaks like this in the future," said Taylor. "It is their legal duty, now, to meet these standards."
FDA is going to "very thoroughly" enforce the rule, said Taylor.
In the next 15 months the agency plans to inspect all of the approximately 600 egg firms currently under the rule--all firms with more than 50,000 laying hens--which make up about 80 percent of domestic egg production. Taylor said the inspections will begin in September.
Elder told reporters that "all options are under consideration" for enforcement actions against the companies, but explained that FDA does not comment on enforcement decisions before they are enacted. Injunctions and criminal prosecution are among the possibilities.
Longtime food safety advocate Caroline Smith DeWaal, director of food safety at the Center for Science in the Public Interest called the agency's findings "stomach-churning," in a statement yesterday.
"FDA found rodents and wild birds in the facilities, and five of the Wright County Egg facilities had giant manure piles inside their buildings," noted Smith DeWaal. "These violations are reminiscent of similar findings in another major outbreak linked to peanut butter."
"Equally troubling is that the inspections occurred the month following the date that the new egg-safety regulation went into effect," she added. "Both companies involved had been on notice that they needed to meet requirements of the new egg-safety rule for over a year."
"The decrepit conditions in these hen houses reflect the fact that companies know that FDA inspections are so rare--even following the adoption of a new safety regulation--that there is no urgency to fix their buildings and their operations to assure compliance with FDA statutes and regulations," she added.
FDA says the two farms have agreed to not sell shell eggs to consumers until the agency is confident the eggs are safe for consumption. Until the firms are given the go-ahead, eggs are being sent to "breaker" facilities to be pasteurized for use in processed foods and other consumer goods.
Both companies responded by saying they are acting quickly to correct problems identified by FDA. Wright County Egg said they have "worked around the clock" to address concerns raised during the inspection.
"To date, the vast majority of the concerns identified in the FDA report already have been addressed through repairs or other corrective measures," said the company in a statement. "We anticipate the expeditious completion of nearly all remaining items by mid-September."
Taylor said yesterday that FDA has no reason to believe that the conditions found at Hillandale and Wright County are indicative of the entire egg industry.
The inspection reports are available online for both Hillandale Farms and Wright County Egg.
